Understanding resilience: Similarities and differences in the perceptions of children, parents and practitioners. (April 2019) - McDonald, Myfanwy
Abstract: The purpose of this paper is to highlight how commonalities and differences between Australian children, parents and practitioners in terms of how they understand child resilience could inform the design and delivery of initiatives that aim to promote child resilience. A qualitative analysis of data from focus groups with children ( n = 44), parents ( n = 42) and practitioners ( n = 107) undertaken in six Australian states and territories found key differences between the three groups in terms of: what they think resilience looks like in a child; and the factors that influence child resilience. The analysis also found a common agreement about the importance of supportive relationships to children's resilience. The findings suggest that initiatives that aim to promote child resilience may be more engaging and useful to children and parents if they: educate parents about the factors that influence child resilience; communicate the aims of resilience interventions to parents and children; focus on building supportive relationships for children; and explore community attitudes towards risk-taking. Highlights: Children and parents understand child resilience in different ways to practitioners Compared to practitioners, parents and children are more likely to view children's resilience as an individual trait Educating parents about the nature of resilience may increase support for initiatives that target children's environments